Malta News Evening Roundup

4th January 2019

Reading Time: 2minutes

Good evening

These are the main stories from Malta as reported by Malta’s news portals.

Adrian Delia vowed to remain leader of the Nationalist Party in a rhythmic Facebook post picked up by MaltaToday. The Opposition Leader said he would fight on against external and internal pressures and that the setbacks he has encountered have only made him stronger.

A delegation of German MPs and MEPs made a visit to the Sea-Watch 3 in an effort to resolve the impasse. CDU member Frank Schwabe said that, although the vessel is closer to land, people aboard are still suffering. Speaking to Newsbook, Schwabe said that people are looking weak after 14 days stranded at sea.

Meanwhile, The Malta Independent reports that one of the rescued migrants the ship jumped off board in a desperate attempt to reach land. The portal says he was quickly helped out again from the cold waters.

Glenn Bedingfield has officially closed his eponymous blog after months of inactivity. LovinMaltasays that the fiery MP could not keep up with the level of commitment the website demands due to government and constituency work. At the same time, he urged others to fill the gap.

The search is on for a man who escaped from police custody this afternoon. TVM says that the African national escaped with his wrists still in handcuffs and police are looking for him in the Qormi area. Net News also reports on the story, carrying an appeal for information by the police. The man was reportedly wearing a two-tone jacket in red and black.

A man sustained serious injuries after an incident at a construction site in Msida. The 61-year-old was completely buried under a pile of rock, reports One News, until he was freed by members of the Civil Protection Department and rushed to hospital.

An artistic steel structure is being proposed for Dwejra, in place of the collapsed arch forming the Azure Window. The Times reports that a Russian architectural firm has formally submitted the design consisting of polygonal mirrored metal sheets to the Environment and Resources Authority. In March last year, the government opened a call for artistic recreations of the landmark.

Residents pressure group ‘Inħobbu l-Gżira’ are objecting to the masterplan proposed by the Manoel Island project. The group said in a statement published by The Shift News that “Gzira is a town of just one square kilometre with 11,000 residents, three schools and 150 building sites.”